Multi-needle sewing machines



6, 1969 s. H. $.EKLUND MULTI-NEEDLE smwma mcnmas 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 12, 1967 FIG.3

INVENTOR 5T: 6 HENRYSIGURD E K LUNO Aug. 26, 1969 s, H. s, EK UND 3,463,102

MULTI-NEEDLE SEWING MACHINES Filed June 12, 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 \NVENTOR Srlc, H ENRy SIGURD EKLUM) Aug. 26, 1969 s. H- s. EKLUND 3,463,102

1 MULTIJ-NEEDLE'SEWING MACHINES Filed June 12, 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.

NNNNNN 6 R STIG HENFN sncuno EKLUND zitff Aug. 26, 1969 s. H. s. EKLUND MULTI-NEEDLE SEWING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 12, 1967 oillllllllllll lllllltll III! 'IIIIIIIIIIIIO INVENTOR STIG HE NRY StGURD EKLUND m r @YJI/ q Aug. 26, 1969 s. H. s. EKLUND 3,463,102

MULTI-NEEDLE SEWiNG MACHINES Filed June 12, 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG.10

\NV ENTOR 5TH; HENRY SiGURD EKLUN D 1969 s. H. s. BKLUND 3,463,102

' MULTI-NEBDLE SEWING MACHINES Filed June 12, 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 \NVE-NTQR .STIG HENRY SIGURD ekwuo I y 734m, 521L 6 5000a? Aug. 26, 1969 a She etS-Sheet 8 Filed June 12,, 1967 FIG.12

QNVENTOR snc Hemzy SIGURD EKumo United States Patent Olfice 3,463,102 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 3,463,102 MULTI-NEEDLE SEWING MACHINES Stig Henry Sigurd Eklund, Malmo, Sweden, assignor to Infor, Institutet for nyttiggorande av forskningsresultat, Stockholm, Sweden Filed June 12, 1967, Ser. No. 645,143

Claims priority, application Sweden, June 13, 1966,

8,039/ 66 Int. Cl. D05b 1/08, 11/00, 49/04 US. Cl. 112164 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to multi-needle sewing machines, particularly embroidery machines or so-called quilting machines, i.e., sewing machines of the type that sew with a great many needles at the same time and are used for wadding or matelass work on piece-goods or in other words efrect pattern sewing as a rule on textile materials with fillings in the form of wadding, foam plastic or the like.

The needles of a quilting machine as a rule are arranged in two rows spaced apart a distance of about 7.5 cm., the needle distance in each row being about 2.5 cm. This means that a quilting machine having for example a working width of 150 cm. will sew with about 120 needles at the same time.

The quilting machines available on the marketwhatever the makeall are designed according to a basic principle that has not appreciably changed during the last 25 years. These prior art machines are equipped with reciprocatory shuttles producing a so-called shuttle seam with a lower thread and an upper thread.

One of the main disadvantages of such machines is that for each stitch the shuttles must start from a rear starting position and be stopped after their passage through the upper thread loop in a forward position for an immediate return to the starting position. For each stitch there are thus required two starts and two stops of each of the 120 shuttles normally provided in an average-size quilting machine. This discontinuous shuttle movement makes the machine slower than it would need to be if rotary gripping shuttles could be used, and also increases the wear and the operating costs.

The reason why the long shuttle principle is still ap plied in quilting machines and rotary gripping shuttles have not been provided as in modern one-needle and twoneedle sewing machines, is that gripping shuttles and their drive means are considered too space-consuming to permit their use with the compact needle arrangement in a quilting machine.

Another structural feature common to the prior art quilting machines is that like ordinary sewing machines they are equipped with a swing-arm type thread tightener.

The conventional swing-arm type thread tightener moves uniformly up and down and in the lower position leaves the thread without any control whatever while it places too heavy a load on the thread in the upper position. Attempts have been made at compensating for the heavy load on the thread by using a resilient thread, but the thread tightener nevertheless is of unsatisfactory function and leads to an uncertain seam with a tendency of skipping stitches.

In ordinary high-speed sewing machines having rotary gripping shuttles use is made of thread tightener arms having loops. In one-needle machines (e.g., for household use) the motion of such a looped thread tightener is obtained by means of a four-link system or by cam control. However, this system is relatively weak and sensitive and cannot be used in high-speed multi-needle sewing machines of the type particularly encompassed by the present invention.

The long shuttles and the prior art thread tighteners will be the machine elements that primarily restrict the maximum speed of the quilting machine, which lies in the range of about 500 stitches per minute. To increase the speed of the quilting machine thus is a complex problem. For example, the shuttle speed cannot be increased considerably beyond the present maximum speed because the thread tightener hitherto used will function even more unsatisfactorily at an increased stitch frequency. On the other hand, the machine speed cannot be appreciably increased by providing the machine with a thread tightener of satisfactory function at high speed since the conventional long shuttles restrict the machine speed approximately to the maximum value indicated in the foregoing.

The present invention has for its object, by reconstruction of the multi-needle sewing machines and particularly the quilting machines, to eliminate the above outlined disadvantages and to permit a considerably higher operating speed, for example up to three times that which was hitherto considered normal.

The machine according to the invention which like the prior art quilting machines has a sewing unit comprising at least one needle frame with a plurality of needles and a shuttle row with a corresponding number of shuttles, wherein rotary gripping shuttles of the per se known kind are mounted for rotation about a rotary axis common to the shuttles in the row. The machine preferably has a rotary thread tightener common to the threads, said thread tightener being adapted to rotate about a rotary axis and being driven by a drive operating in timed relation with a drive common to the gripping shuttles.

In a preferred embodiment the thread tightener includes a blade-like element having means for tightening the thread and means adapted successively to pay out the thread under maintained thread control, and not to suddenly release the thread after tightening as the prior art machines do.

With the increased machine speed realized by the present invention it has been found that the conventional movable presser bar or presser foot operates unsatisfactorily. This prior are device which cooperates with material feed means and with the thread tightener in such a way as to compress the material after each stitch and then release it, gives rise to great acceleration and retardation problems like reciprocatory shuttles and produces heavy noise during operation already at the above operating speed in the range of about 500 stitches per minute. In conventional machines the presser foot at top speed has a compact force of about kg., which implies that the transmission for the operation of the presser foot is subject to heavy stresses. One solution of the problem would be to use a rotary eccentric type presser foot. Such a presser foot can operate more quickly but does not entirely solve the noise problem. According to the invention, however, it has proved possible to overcome these drawbacks by using instead of a movable presser foot a plate which is stationary in relation to the sewing unit and arranged as a stripping plate which prevents the material from being carried along with the needles at their return movement and thereby jeopardizing the thread loop formation. The stationary stripping plate is preferably arranged in such a way that the material between the plate and the sewing table is subjected to a continuous clamping action which is not so heavy as to render difiicult or prevent the advance of the material during the feed movements provided by the material feed means.

According to the invention, the rotary gripping shuttles arranged in rows are adapted to be driven by a common drive which includes a drive shaft which extends in parallel with the shuttle row and is equipped with drive means engaging the gripping shuttles to rotate them. The drive means preferably are gears, and the shuttles carry gear rims meshing with the gears.

In a machine having a sewing unit with two needle rows and two shuttle rows, which is most customary in quilting machines, use is made of a drive shaft common to the two shuttle rows and placed in parallel with the two shuttle rows in a plane parallel with the needles midway between the two needle rows and shuttle rows. In this arrangement the shuttles in one shuttle row are disposed opposite the shuttles in the other shuttle row, and each drive means drives a shuttle pair comprising one shuttle in one row and the opposite shuttle in the other shuttle row.

To avoid natural oscillations and resulting fatigue in long sewing units, both the thread tightener and a needle holder common to the needles in the two needle rows are divided, according to the present invention, into sections that are mounted at their ends. The thread tightener sections preferably are individually balanced and interconnected via the drive shaft of the thread tightener, said drive shaft suitably consisting of a tube and arranged to be driven at one end.

In the conventional quilting machines the sewing unit is stationary while the material to be sewn is suspended from a laterally movable carriage. The weight of the carriage varies considerably depending upon the weight of the material which is being supported by the carriage in the particular case. This arrangement suffers from the essential drawback that the maximum weight of the carriage must be restricted to obtain a carriage control free of any disturbances and to preclude the necessity of using too heavily dimensioned guides and drive means which are fully exploited only when the carriage carries maximum load. At an increase of the operating speed of the machine to that permitted by the present invention the drawback of said arrangement for the relative lateral movement between the material to be sewn and the sewing unit becomes very troublesome. This is why the sewing unit is arranged as a laterally reciprocatory carriage, according to the present invention, while the material is advanced only in its longitudinal direction. This will bring the advantage that the movable unit of the machine has a constant weight irrespective of the continuous length of material to be sewn. It may be mentioned as an example that the machine according to the invention can operate with rolls of material ten times greater than the greatest rolls usable with the prior art machines.

The above features of the invention and the advantages gained thereby will become more fully apparent from the following specification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURES 1 and 2 are diagrammatic views showing the operating principle of the sewing unit of a conventional quilting machine and that of a quilting machine according to the invention, respectively;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic cross section of the sewing unit of the machine according to the invention which is equipped with two needle rows and two gripping shuttle rows;

FIGURES 4-6 are views similar to FIGURE 3, illustrating together with FIGURE 3 four main phases of an operating cycle for providing a simultaneous stitch performed with all needles;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a sewing unit according to the invention, on line VIIVII in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the sewing unit as seen from above it and illustrates the thread tightener, the thread guides, the thread control springs, the needle holder tubes and the stripping plate;

FIGURE 9 is a side view of a gripping shuttle pair in FIGURE 7 and shows the drive shaft, the sewing table and certain supporting means in cross section taken vertically and perpendicularly of the drive shaft and between two adjacent shuttle pairs, FIGURE 9 illustrating some modifications of details;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 9, but showing a modified embodiment of the drive;

FIGURE 11 is an exploded view, in axial section, of a shuttle holder with gripper, a shuttle and a thread spool according to the invention;

FIGURE 12 is a side view of the parts in FIGURE 11.

The sewing principle of the quilting machines available on the market is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 1. The shuttle S is started from its stationary rear position S1, passes through the thread loop (via positions S1 and S2) and is then retarded and stopped in its forward position S4 from where it is immediately returned to the starting position S1. Thus the shuttle is started two times and stopped two times for each stitch. During this cycle the needle N shall first be lowered to its bottom position N1 and then be drawn up somewhat, position N2, to form a thread loop. When the shuttle apex has passed through the thread loop the needle must again be lowered to its bottom position N1 to widen the thread loop so that the entire shuttle can pass therethrough. After that the needle is again drawn up to the starting position N3.

In the machine according to the invention, on the other hand, use is made of rotary gripping shuttles, and the machine operates on the principle illustrated in FIG- URE 2. The gripping shuttle rotates continuously and performs two revolutions for each stitch. During one revolution the needle moves down to position N1, while the shuttle S is rotating. When the needle is drawn upwards, position N2, the thread loop is caught by the gripper, position S2. The needle proceeds in an upward direction N3, to its top position N4, and during its upward travel pays out a thread loop which the gripper during its second revolution pulls around its thread spool.

The rotary gripping shuttle system as is well known operates at a much higher speed and with greater precision than does the long shuttle system.

The rotary gripping shuttle system is employed in the sewing unit constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated in FIGURES 3-8. The sewing unit has two horizontal shuttle rows, one situated above the other, and two needle rows arranged in the same way. Each of the rows includes for instance sixty needles and sixty shuttles, the row interspace being about 7.5 cm. and the distance between the needles in each row about 2.5 cm. A special arrangement illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 7 is utilized in order that the shuttles S with their rotary grippers S and the drives for the latter shall be accommodated in the sewing table 1. All gripping shuttles S in each row are placed and mounted for rotation about a common horizontal rotary axis and the shuttles in the two rows are placed opposite and at a short vertical distance from each other so as to form sixty shuttle pairs. Each shuttle pair is driven by a common drive means 2 and all drive means are carried by a common drive shaft 3 placed in parallel with the rotary axes of the shuttles, i.e., their grippers S, FIGURE 7, the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft 3 being situated in a horizontal plane extending in parallel with the horizontal needles N in the two needle rows midway between said rows and midway between the two rotary axes for the shuttles S in the two shuttle rows. Gears meshing with gear rims 4 (see FIGURE 7) on the shuttles are preferably used as drive means 2 for a positive operation of the shuttles S. Each shuttle S is mounted in the sewing table 1 in a shuttle holder 5 with the aid of three guides supporting the shuttle at three equiangularly distributed points. For the shuttles S in each shuttle pair use is made of two identical but mirror-reversed shuttle holders 5 of the shape shown in FIGURE 3, and for guiding of the respective shuttle S each shuttle holder 5 carries two guide rollers 7 (FIG- URES 4 and 7) which are freely rotatable on ball bearings 6 and engage in a peripheral groove 8 in the respective shuttle. The third guide in the embodiment illustrated constitutes a common third guide for both shuttles in each shuttle pair and comprises a guide disk 9 formed on or secured to the driving gear 2, and like the guide rollers 7 said guide disk 9 engages in the peripheral groove 8 in the respective shuttle. The gear rims 4 on the shuttles S may be integral with or attached to a peripheral portion of the respective rotary gripper S" as is shown in FIGURE 7. To permit control of the adjustment of the shuttles relative to the needle movement the driving gears 2 are detachably connected to the drive shaft 3 by locking screws 10 which are readily accessible from one side of the gear for manipulation by means of a screwdriver. After untightening of these locking screws 10 the respective gear 2 can be adjusted on the drive shaft 3 and then be locked again in the adjusted position. To ensure a smooth rotation of the drive shaft 3 and the gears the shaft is preferably mounted in ball bearings 11 on either side of each gear. In the embodiment illustrated the two shuttle holders 5 for each shuttle pair are connected each with one supporting means 12 and 12', respectively, which are supported from the drive shaft 3 by means of a ball bearing 13. In addition, each shuttle holder 5 is secured to the table 1 of the sewing unit by means of a fixation screw 14 which is readily untightened when it is desired to remove the gripper S or the lower-thread spool casings S. To facilitate such removal the opening in the sewing table 1 for the shuttle holders has circular lateral boundary walls 15 and the corresponding lateral edge 16 on each shuttle holder 5 has a conforming circular shape. As a result, each shuttle holder after untightening of the fixation screw 14 can be turned about the drive shaft 3 so that the gripping shuttle S and the lower thread spool are swung out together with the holder 5. The spool casing S" with the thread spool can then be removed for thread exchange and the rotary gripper S, if desired, be removed from the guide rollers.

FIGURE 7, which is partly diagrammatic, does not show the fastenings for the drive shaft bearings 11, but it is understood that the outer races of these bearings are connected to the frame of the sewing unit. One ball bearing 13 only is employed in the embodiment illustrated to support the shuttle holders 5 on the drive shaft 3. and the outer race of said ball bearing 13 carries on its periphery the two supporting means 12, 12' for the respective shuttle holders. Said supporting means 12, 12 are rings which can be mounted on the outer race of the support ball bearing so that the two shuttle holders can be rotated individually relative to the shaft 3. Instead of this arrangement, however, it is possible to use for example separate support bearings for the two shuttle holders 5.

As already mentioned and shown in FIGURES 3-6 and FIGURE 8 the sewing unit has horizontal needles, i.e., the sewing table is vertical. The material M is therefore advanced in the vertical sense between the sewing table 1 and the needle rows, which has proved practical from many points of view, int.al. as it facilitates the inspection of the machine and the material. A stripping bar 20 extends along the sewing table. It is stationary in relation to the sewing unit and replaces the conventional presser foot. The stripping bar 20 has holes or slots to permit the needles S to pass therethrough and is held applied against the material M by resilient force, for instance spring load (not shown). This arrangement has proved to be more satisfactory than a movable presser foot in the type of sewing work to be carried out with the machine, and in addition provides a considerably simplified construction and a more silent function of rhe machine.

A tube 21 of rectangular section provided with the requisite needle fastenings 22 for the needles N is utilized as a needle holder which is movable toward and away from the sewing table 1.

According to the invention, a rotary device generally designated 23 in FIGURES 3-6 and FIGURE 8 is used as a thread tightener. This device includes a drive shaft 24 which extends in parallel with and is spaced from the needle holder tube 21, and a thread tightener 25 constituted by an angularly bent blade which in cross section has the form of a boomerang or an L of somewhat rounded outer profile. At the ends the thread tightener blade 25 is mounted on disks 26 which in turn are mounted on the shaft 23. The form and function of the blade 25 is described more fully below in connection with the description of the function of the sewing unit.

As is diagrammatically shown in FIGURES 3-6 each upper thread 30 for the needles N extends from thread spools (not shown) over conventional thread tension means 31 (see also FIGURE 8) and via a thread guide 32 over the outer side of the thread tightener blade 25 and via a thread guide 33 back over the blade 25 and via the guide 32 to the respective needle N.

The operation of the drive shaft 2 of the gripping shuttles, the needle holder tube 20, and the drive shaft 22 of the thread tightener of course takes place in the determined time sequence that applies to all sewing machines having rotary gripping shuttles. The mechanism for the synchronous operation of the movable parts does not fall under the invention and therefore no detailed description of said mechanism is given here.

As already mentioned, the sewing unit comprising the table 1 with the shuttles S and the drive shaft 3, the stripping bar 20, the needle holder 21 and the thread tightener 23 is movably supported in the manner of a carriage for lateral reciprocation, while the material M is only supported by rolls and is fed by feed rolls in its longitudinal direction in step with the stitch frequency. This arrangement according to the invention differs from the prior art designs in which the sewing unit is stationary, while the material M is supported on a laterally movable carriage. The advantage gained by the arrangement according to the invention is that the movable carriage has always the same weight, which simplifies the guidance of the carriage and makes for a simpler and more uniform operation of the quilting machine as a whole. The invention is not directed toward the drive for the machine, but it may be mentioned that the main motor for driving the feed rolls for the material M and the sewing motion of the laterally movable sewing unit is stationarily mounted and arranged to drive the sewing motion over a movable transmission. The lateral movements of the sewing unit 1, 21, 23 and the sewing movements can be programme-controlled in a known manner.

According to the invention, the needle holder tube 21 and the thread tightener blade 25 are divided into say three sections, one of which is shown in FIGURE 8. Each section of the thread tightener blade 25 has the ends attached to end disks 26 which are mounted on the drive shaft 24 of the thread tightener, said shaft thus connecting the three blade sections 25. The three sections of the needle holder tube 21 are detachably interconnected at the abutting ends by means of holders 27, see FIGURE 8. Natural oscillations apt to occur in long units and tending to lead to material fatigue are avoided by this division into sections. Moreover, it should be 7 mentioned that the drive for the needle holder tube 21 is also arranged to drive a counterweight to which is imparted an opposite movement to that of the needle holder tube, whereby the needle movement is balanced in any position. This will make for a smooth operation.

As already mentioned, the material M to be quilted is fed in the vertical sense between the stripping bar and the sewing table 1 and is wound onto a retarded shaft (nqt shown), the material being pulled through the machine by three spring-biased rolls (not shown), driven from the main motor. It may further be mentioned that the device for advancing the material includes stop means which make it possible to stop the advance of the material while the sewing unit 1, 21, 23 is still operating and moving laterally. This will highly increase the pattern possibilities.

The operating principle of the movable sewing unit 1, 21, 23 of the machine is illustrated in FIGURES 3-6 and will hardly require any exhaustive explanation. FIGURE 3 shows the phase when the needles N are inserted in a bottom position and the rotary shuttles S with their grippers are just about to catch the thread loop passed through the material M. During this inward needle movement the thread tightener blade 25 which in FIGURES 3-6 rotates counter-clockwise and which is eccentrically mounted in relation to the drive shaft 24 of the thread tightener moves through part of a revolution, during which part the threads 30 (after a preceding tightening, FIGURES and 6) are successively paid out by the thread tightener blade 25 by reason of the outer side of said blade being curved with a decreasing radial distance from the shaft 24, counted from the rounded leading blade edge 25a to the rounded trailing blade edge 25b. Immediately after the thread loops have been caught by the grippers the blade 25 releases the threads in that the trailing blade edge 25b situated radially closest to the centre of the shaft 24 moves away from the threads at the same time as the needles move back (see FIGURES 4 and 5) from the bottom position in FIGURE 3. When the needles have reached their top positions in FIGURE 5 the blade 25 with its leading edge 25a situated radially farthest away from the shaft 24 reaches the threads which are then pulled out in a vertically upward direction between the thread guides 32, 33 while the blade 25 moves from the FIGURE 5 position to the FIGURE 6 position, thread being supplied from the thread spools and the threads being stretched in the material M for stitch tightening. During the next movement of the needles inwardly from the position in FIGURE 6 toward the bottom position in FIGURE 3 the leading edge 25a of the blade follows the threads, the thread support being, however, successively taken over by the outer side of the leading portion 250 of the blade 25. At a certain moment of this movement the threads slide via the back portion 25d of the angularly bent blade 25 onto a substantially planar support surface on the rear portion 25e of the blade, whereupon the threads are again released by the blade when the needles have again reached their bottom positions.

The illustrated design of the thread tightener blade will provide a very flexible and efiicient thread guidance which does not subject the threads to abrupt jerks and does not either suddenly release the threads after they have been pulled out and tightened. The device being rotary, the wear will be reduced and the transmission for the operation of the device will be simplified considerably. Moreover, the device is of very silent operation, which is an important advantage.

The design of the rotary thread tightener can of course be modified depending upon the particular machine in which it is to be used. In the embodiment illustrated the blade is for example of hollow shape and is a curved metal sheet, for which another construction may of course be substituted, although the illustrated construction brings certain advantages, such as low Weight compared to its strength. A conceivable modification is to place on a drum a plurality of thread tighteners 25, in which case the drum can rotate more slowly than does the shaft 26. Also, a wire or cage construction for the thread tightening element 25 is conceivable and may be advantageous. For instance by making the wires or bars in the cage construction adjustable such a construction may permit adjustment of the cam shape of the thread tightener.

A gripping shuttle pair is shown in side view in FIG- URE 9. This shuttle pair is driven by a pinion 4 on the shaft 3 in FIGURE 7, the drive shaft 3, the sewing table 1, the supporting means for the sewing table, and the stripping foot 21 being shown in vertical section. In the arrangement in FIGURE 9 which shows a structural embodiment slightly modified compared to the arrangement in FIGURES 3-7, details that correspond to details in FIGURE 7 are designated by the same reference numerals. The sewing table 1 is comprised of an arcuate sheet metal member 50 which is of C-shape in cross section and the planar back of which faces the stripping foot 21. The sewing table is supported in the machine frame (not shown) by a device including box beams 52 and holders 53 which are attached to the machine frame and on which the beams 52 are detachably secured by suitable fastening means. Each gripping shuttle holder 5 is pivoted to the shaft 3 by means of a ring 12 which is integral with the respective holder 5, and the holders 5 are so arranged as to permit being swung manually outwards from their operating position to allow withdrawal and insertion of a thread spool capsule or casing S". To facilitate outward swinging of the holders 5 each holder has a grip formed by a projection in which a finger hole 55 is provided. Such swinging movement is guided by the pinion 4 rolling on the drive gear 2. Each holder 5 is held in operating position by a leaf spring 56 which is applied against an abutment 57 on one side of the holder 5 and resiliently retains the holder. Otherwise, the arrangement in FIG- URE 9 corresponds to that described and shown with reference to FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 10 corresponds to FIGURE 9 but shows a further modified arrangement for operating the gripping shuttles S. In FIGURE 10 such details as occur also in FIGURES 7 and 9 are designated by reference numerals corresponding to those in FIGURES 7 and 9 but are increased by the number 100.

The modification in FIGURE 10 consists in that the gripping shuttles S in each shuttle row are driven by a separate drive shaft 103 to which the shuttle holders in each row are pivoted between the drive gears 102 of the drive shaft 103. The drive shafts 103 are placed on the outer side of the respective shuttle row and, like before, drive the gripping shuttles by means of gears 102 which are mounted on the drive shafts 103 and mesh with the pinions 104 secured to the respective gripping shuttles. The gears 102 on the drive shafts 103 may be of metal or synthetic plastic material and the pinions 104 on the holders 105 preferably are of synthetic plastic material.

The shuttle holders 105 can be swung outward to the left in FIGURE 10, whereby the pinion 104 in the holder during this movement is guided on the gear 102; the shuttle holders 105 in the upper shuttle row can be swung out clockwise and the shuttle holders 105 in the lower row counter-clockwise. The shuttle holders 105 can be associated with means for automatically locking them in operating position and preventing them from being unintentionally swung out. A suitable mean-s of this type is shown in FIGURE 10 and comprises a pin 156 of plastics which is attached to the holder 105 and is automatically moved into resilient engagement in a hole in the sewing table when the holder is swung inwards into operating position. This arrangement makes the pins 156 visible from the side of the sewing table, and it can thus be established whether or not all holders 105 occupy the correct operating position.

The other details in FIGURE 10 substantially correspond to those in FIGURE 9 and it is therefore believed.

unnecessary to enter upon a detailed description of these details.

With the arrangement in FIGURE it is possible to place the movable transmission means in a more protected position and also there is no risk that personnel behind the machine might be injured by rotary gears. With the use of separate drive shafts 103 for the two gripping shuttle rows S the machine is more readily adjusted for operation of but one shuttle row, when this is desired. Further, a machine for but one shuttle row is readily built on the principle shown in FIGURE 10 simply by one shuttle row and one drive shaft being omitted.

FIGURE 11 shows an exploded view, in axial section, of a gripping shuttle holder supporting a shuttle S which comprises a rotary gripper S and a capsule or casing S" with a thread spool 163. Like in FIGURE 10, reference numeral 104 designates a gear of synthetic plastics which is secured on one side of the shuttle holder 105. The gripper is mounted by means of an antifriction bearing, preferably as shown a ball bearing 160, in the holder 105. The holder 105 consists of parts 105' and 105", which is practical as it facilitates mounting of the ball bearing 160 and the gripper S. One part 105', which has the ball bearing 160 mounted therein, preferably is of metal while the other part 105" preferably is of synthetic plastics. In said other part 105 is provided a hole for the needle N and the thread, and a wearing sleeve 161 of metal or preferably china is inserted in said hole. The pinion 104 of synthetic plastics can be attached by screw bolts (not shown) to a seat on the rear of the rotary gripper S. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 11 the pinion 104 is surrounded by an annular projection 165 on the holder, said projection having an opening 165' through which a gear 102 on the drive shaft 103 (FIGURE 10) projects so as to mesh with the pinion 104.

It will appear from FIGURE 11 that the very compact mounting of rotary gripping shuttles necessary in a quilting machine is rendered possible by the provision of the holders with gripping shuttles S and pinions 104.

FIGURE 11 shows a special embodiment according to the invention of a thread spool casing S and a spool 163 for the lower thread.

The casing S" thus has an opening 170 for the needle in its peripheral wall and a central pin 162 in which is provided a peripheral groove 162 near the outer end of the pin. The opening 170 is formed in an axial projection which is adapted to fit in a recess formed in the holder portion 105". The lower-thread spool 163 is of synthetic plastics and has a through bore with two annular resilient ribs 164 therein, which are spaced equal distances from the centre of the spool and conform with the peripheral groove 162 in the pin 162. When the spool 163 is inserted in position in the spool casing S" one annular rib 164 resiliently engages in the groove 162 when the spool has reached its operative position. The spool 162 is cheap in manufacture and disposable, i.e., it can be discarded once the thread is consumed.

The parts in FIGURE 11 are shown in side view in FIGURE 12. FIGURE 12 clearly shows the mounting ring 112 for mounting the gripping shuttle holder S on the drive shaft 103 in FIGURE 10. 1'67 designates a latch arm which is mounted for pivotment against the action of a spring 169 on a pin 168 in a hole in the synthetic plastic part 105" of the holder 105 and which is adapted, with its inwardly projecting end, to engage the outer side of the spool casing S so as to keep the casing unrotatable in position within the rotary gripper S'. When the spool casing S" is to be withdrawn the latch arm 167 is swung aside by hand. For reinsertion of the spool casing S" the arm 167 is first swung outwards and then allowed to automatically return to latching position.

The spool casing S" in FIGURES 11 and 12 may be of synthetic plastics, while the pin 162, if desired, may be of metal like a thread tensioning spring 171 which is formed by a small leaf spring and is mounted on the circumferential wall of the spool casing S.

The stripping foot 21 may be biased with means enabling adjustment of the distance relative to the sewing table for regulating the pressure against the material. Said biasing means may comprise spring means.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, having at least one row of a plurality of needles (N); means (25, 31, 33) for feeding an upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including a thread tightening element (25); at least one row of shuttles in a number equal to that of the needles in said needle row, said shuttles consisting each of a rotary gripper (S') supporting a nonrotatable spool casing (8) for a lower-thread spool (163) insertable therein; drive means (3) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening element, supporting means supporting each shuttle (S) in said shuttle row spaced apart in relation to each adjacent shuttle, each gripper (S') being carried in said supporting means for rotary movement on a rotary axis common to all grippers in said row, means (2, 3, 4) including a drive shaft (3) for rotating all rotary grippers (S'), each supporting means including a gripping shuttle holder (5; for each gripping shuttle (S), in which holder the respective gripper (S') is rotatably mounted at its outer periphery by hearing means.

2. A multi-needle sewing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which each shuttle holder (105) has a mounting ring (1 12) by which the shuttle holder is pivoted to the drive shaft (103) common to the rotary grippers (S') in said row so that the shuttle holder can be swung on said drive shaft out of an operative position in said row to a position outside of said row to permit withdrawal of the spool casing (S) to permit exchanging the lower-thread spool (163).

3. A multi-needle sewing machine ,such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit which has at least one row of a plurality of needles (N); means (25, 31, 53) for feeding an upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including thread tightening means (25); at least one row of shuttles in a number equal to that of the needles row; drive means for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening means; supporting means (3, 5; 103, 105) for supporting each shuttle in said shuttle row spaced apart in relation to each adjacent shuttle, each shuttle including a rotary gripper (S'); means (69; mounting each gripper (S') rotatably in its supporting means for rotation on a rotary axis common to all shuttles in the row, and means (2, 3, 4) to rotate all grippers (S') in the row simultaneously, said thread tightening means including a rotary thread tightening element (25) including two elongated portions extending at an angle to each other with cam means on one end of one of said elongated portions having a rounded surface (25a) for thread tightening and a curvilinear surface (25b) on the end of the other elongated portion and a curvilinear surface (250) extending along the outside surface of said first elongated portion adapted, after the thread tightening, to successively pay out the upper thread under maintained thread control and synchronism with said drive shaft 3) for rotating all rotary grippers (S') in said row simultaneously.

4. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having at least one row of a plurality of needles (N) and means for feeding upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including a thread tightening element (25), and at least one row of shuttles in a number corresponding to that of the needles, and drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening element, each shuttle including a gripper (S) which is supported rotatably on a rotary axis common to all grippers in the row, an individual shuttle holder (105) for each shuttle, in which holder the respective gripper is mounted at its periphery by means of bearing means (160), the drive shaft (103) being mounted in parallel with and spaced from the shuttle row and carrying a number of laterally spaced gears (102) and each rotary gripper (S') carrying a pinion (104) coaxial with the rotary axis of the gripper and meshing with one of said gears (102) on the drive shaft (103), each shuttle holder (105) having the form of a hollow plate in the hollow cavity of which the gripper (S) is rotatably mounted and which is connected with a mounting ring (112) by means of which the shuttle holder is pivoted to the drive shaft (103) between adjacent gears (102) on said drive shaft, each shuttle holder being pivotable from an operative position, in which a corresponding gear (102) on said drive shaft (103) meshes with the pinioin (104), for actuating the rotary grippers (S) to a position outside the shuttle row to permit withdrawal of a spool casing mounted in a coaxial position in the rotary gripper and carrying a lower-thread spool (163).

5. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having at least one row of a plurality of needles (N) and means for feeding upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including a thread tightening element (25), and at least one row of shuttles in a number corresponding to that of the needles, and drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening element, each shuttle including a gripper (S') which is supported rotatably on a rotary axis common to all grippers in the row, an individual shuttle holder (105) for each shuttle, in which holder the respective gripper is mounted at its periphery by means of bearing means (160), the drive shaft (103) being mounted in parallel with and spaced from the shuttle row and carrying a number of laterally spaced gears (102) and each rotary gripper (S') carrying a pinion (104) coaxial with the rotary axis of the gripper and meshing with one of said gears (102) on the drive shaft (103), the shuttle holder (105) having a mounting ring (112) by means of which the shuttle holder is mounted between two adjacent gears (102) on the common drive shaft (103) so that the shuttle holder can be swung to a position outside said shuttle row to permit withdrawal of a spool casing (5) coaxially mounted in the rotary gripper (S) and nonrotatably arranged in relation to the holder (105 to permit exchange of a lower-thread spool (163) disposed in the spool casing, the pinion (104) on the gripper (S) in the shuttle holder being arranged during said movement to roll on the corresponding drive gear (102) on said drive shaft with retained meshing engagement with the drive gear.

6. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having at least one row of a plurality of needles (N) and means for feeding upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including a thread tightening element (25), and at least one row of shuttles in a number corresponding to that of the needles, and drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of 'the thread tightening element, each shuttle including a gripper (S') which is supported rotatably on a rotary axis common to all grippers in the row, an individual shuttle holder (105) for each shuttle, in which holder the respective gripper is mounted at its periphery by means of bearing means (160), the drive shaft (103) being mounted in parallel with and spaced from the shuttle row and carrying a number of laterally spaced gears (102) and each rotary gripper (S') carrying a pinion (104) coaxial with the rotary axis of the gripper and meshing with one of said gear (102) on the drive shaft (103), each shuttle (S) including a spool casing (8") mounted in the gripper (S) and nonrotatably arranged in relation to the shuttle holder (105), said spool casing accommodating an exchangeable lower-thread spool (163) and having a central cantilever journal (162) for supporting the lowerthread spool (163), said lower-thread spool (163) being formed of plastic material and having a hollow hub, and the pin (162) externally and the hub internally having means (162, 164) for mutual yielding engagement when the spool is inserted in the spool casing (5").

7. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having at least one row of a plurality of needles (N) and means for feeding upper thread (30) to the needles, said feeding means including a thread tightening element (25), and at least one row of shuttles in a number corresponding to that of the needles, and drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening element, each shuttle including a gripper (S) which is supported rotatably on a rotary axis common to all grippers in the row, an individual shuttle holder (105) for each shuttle, in which holder the respective gripper is mounted at its periphery by means of bearing means the drive shaft (103) being mounted in parallel with and spaced from the shuttle row and carrying a number of laterally spaced gears (102) and each rotary gripper (S) carrying a pinion (104) coaxial with the rotary axis of the gripper and meshing with one of said gears (102) on the drive shaft (103), each gear (2; 102) on said drive shaft (3; 103) is angularly adjustably mounted on the drive shaft, and there is provided means pivotally mounting said holder for movement between operative and inoperative positions and for maintaining each gripper (S) with the pinion (104) thereof in engagement with a corresponding gear on said drive shaft during pivotal movement of the holder between said positions.

8. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having two parallel needle rows (N), means (25, 31, 53) for feeding upper thread (30) to the needle said feeding means including thread tightening means (25) for tightening the upper threads to the two needle rows; two rows of shuttles (S) with a number of shuttles in each row equal to that of the needles in the corresponding needle row; drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening means; supporting means (3, 5; 103, 105) for supporting each shuttle (S) in the respective row spaced apart in relation to each adjacent shuttle, each shuttle including a rotary gripper (S) with a withdrawable spool casing nonrotatably mounted in the gripper for a lower-thread spool insertable in the spool casing; said supporting means including a shuttle holder (5; 105) and a drive shaft (3; 103) which carries a number of spaced gears, the shuttle holders being mounted on said shaft between said gears (2; .102) and each rotary grippers (S') having a pinion (4; 104) meshing with a corresponding gear on said drive shaft (3; 103) so that upon rotation the drive shaft rotates all grippers in at least one shuttle row simultaneously, there being a single drive shaft (3) with the number of gears corresponding to the number of shuttles in a row, the drive shaft being disposed in parallel with and in a symmetrical position in respect of the two shuttle rows and each gear (2) on the drive shaft (3) meshing with the pinion (4) on a rotary gripper (S) in one shuttle row and with the pinion (4) on a rotary gripper (S) in the other shuttle row simultaneously.

9. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an embroidery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having two parallel needle rows (N), means (25, 31, 53)

for feeding upper thread (30) to the needle said feeding means including thread tightening means (25) for tightening the upper threads to the two needle rows; two rows of shuttles (S) with a number of shuttles in each row equal to that of the needles in the corresponding needle row; drive means (103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening means; supporting means (3, 103, 105) for supporting each shuttle (S) in the respective row spaced apart in relation to each adjacent shuttle, each shuttle including a rotary gripper (S') with a withdrawable spool casing nonrotatably mounted in the gripper for a lower-thread spool insertable in the spool casing; said supporting means including a shuttle holder. (5; 105) and a drive shaft (3; 103) which carries a number of spaced gears, the shuttle holders being mounted on said shaft between said gears (2; 102) and each rotary gripper (8') having a pinion (4; 104) meshing with a corresponding gear on said drive shaft (3; 103) so that upon rotation the drive shaft rotates all grippers in at least one shuttle row simultaneously, the sewing unit being arranged as a carriage laterally reciprocatory along a horizontal axis, and the sewing unit having a stationary presser foot in the form of a material stripping bar extending along the needle row and being adjustably carried on the machine.

10. A multi-needle sewing machine, such as an emhrodiery, quilting and like machine, comprising a sewing unit having two parallel needle rows (N), means (25, 31, 53) for feeding upper thread (30) to the needle said feeding means including thread tightening means (25) for tightening the upper threads to the two needle rows; two rows of shuttles (S) with a number of shuttles in each row equal to that of the needles in the corresponding needle row; drive means (.103) for coordination of the needle movement, the shuttle movement and the movements of the thread tightening means; supporting means (3, 5; 103, 105) for supporting each shuttle (S) in the respective row spaced apart in relation to each adjacent shuttle, each shuttle including a rotary gripper (S) with a withdrawable spool casing nonrotatably mounted in the gripper for a lower-thread spool insertable in the spool casing; said supporting means including a shuttle holder (5; and a drive shaft (3; 103) which carries a number of spaced gears, the shuttle holders being mounted on said shaft between said gears (2; 102) and each rotary gripper (8') having a pinion (4; 104) mesh ing with a corresponding gear on said drive shaft (3; 103) so that upon rotation the drive shaft rotates all grippers in at least one shuttle row simultaneously, the sewing unit including a material stripping bar common to the needle row or to all needle rows, said stripping bar being adjustably mounted on the machine and adapted to hold the material applied against a supporting surface on the sewing unit while the material is being fed by material feeding means.

11. The multi-needle sewing machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said bearing means is an antifriction bearing type.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 332,024 12/1885 Von Martini 112-96 1,119,561 12/1914 Zahn 112-185 1,221,857 4/1917 Hildt 112-117 1,410,467 3/1922 Gegauf 112-164 XR 2,260,382 10/1941 Kibitz et al. 112-117 XR 2,272,180 2/1942 Bailey et al. 112117 2,453,119 11/ 1948 Christensen 112-248 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1 12-117, 248 

